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Gallup poll

Congressmen, lobbyists, and car salesmen have some of the worst reputations for honesty and ethics, as do business execs, stock brokers and real estate agents. And there's a reason why: The rules of their games are stacked against good behavior.

Most Americans say that if the price of gas rises to between $4 to $6 a gallon, they're going to make "major" changes in lifestyle. Well, get ready to change, America: In some states prices have already touched the $4 mark. But it could be ever so much worse.

More than half of those recently polled by Gallup said an income of no more than $150,000 would qualify that person as rich. When asked how much money per year would be necessary for them to consider themselves "rich," 53 percent mentioned an income of $150,000 or less, and 71 percent said an income of $300,000 would be enough.

U.S. economic confidence fell slightly in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. But consumers in the District of Columbia and states such as Maryland, Virginia, Utah and Massachusetts kept their confidence up. Here's why.

President Obama sailed into the White House on the wings of hope, but now a majority of Americans say they're doing worse now than before he arrived two years ago, according to Bloomberg National Poll results released Thursday.

Public confidence in the social security systems is on the wane, according to a USA Today/ Gallup poll.
Six out of ten non-retirees think Social Security won%u2019t be able to pay them benefits when they stop working. Three-fourths of those aged 18 to 34 don%u2019t expect any kind of social security check when they retire. A majority of retirees also say they expect their current benefits to be cut.

President Obama's approval rating has dropped. But here's something investors should know: The rate has declined for nearly every president from the first year to the second. A lot of the drop stems from the poor economy and the unemployment rate. A stronger economy always reverses the trend.